Pittsburgh, P.A. - The Binghamton wrestling team (4-3, 4-1 EIWA) went 2-1 at the Pitt Duals on Saturday. The Bearcats defeated Franklin and Marshall College 38-12 and Harvard 23-16, both of which were EIWA conference match-ups. BU fell to non-conference foe West Virginia 22-20.

Binghamton had four wrestlers that went 3-0 on the day. Junior Steve Schneider, who is currently ranked No. 11 by InterMat, earned a pin and two major decisions while redshirt sophomore Connor Calkins had a sudden victory win. Freshman Parker Kropman recorded a pin and redshirt freshman Tristan Rifanburg had two bonus-point wins.

BU came out to a slow start this morning against WVU, dropping its first three bouts for the dual. Down 14-0 going into the 149 weight class, Kropman earned an 11-6 decision against Christian Monserrat to put the Bearcats on the board. At 157, Rifanburg followed suit, earning a 16-0 bonus-point win to cut the deficit in half. Redshirt sophomore Anthony DePrez and Schneider both tacked on major decision wins towards the end of the dual, but Binghamton was unable to pull within more than two points of the Mountaineers.

Against Franklin & Marshall, the Bearcats won  seven out of 10 of their matches. Kropman delivered again for the Bearcats, pinning his opponent Nick Maher 6:11 into the match. Rifanburg added on a hard-earned six team points with a win at 157, earning BU a comfortable 18-9 lead. Redshirt freshman Jake Einbinder came out strong at 165 with a 16-0 win and Schneider quickly followed with a pin against Franklin and Marshall's Reid Robilotto, securing the dual. Wins at 197 and 285 sealed the win. 

Riding the tide, Steven Bulzomi attacked Harvard's Matt Rodriguez at 125, securing a pin just 2:12 into his match and putting BU up early 6-0. Down 8-6, the Bearcats got back-to-back decision wins from the freshman duo Kropman and Rifanburg. Harvard responded, taking the next two matches to go up 16-12 . Schneider pulled out another major decision win to tie up the dual at 184. Redshirt sophomores Mark Tracy (197) and Connor Calkins (Hwt.) finished Harvard off with consecutive wins.

"I think we saw a really strong presence from Kropman and Rifanburg at our 149 and 157 weight classes," head coach Matt Dernlan said. "They were both very critical in establishing momentum and carrying us to victories. As freshmen, putting the weight of the dual on their shoulders and producing for us is something that deserves to be highlighted."

The Bearcats return home this Friday, January 20^th for an EIWA dual against Drexel. The match-up is set for a 7 p.m. start time at the West Gym. 

FINAL RESULTS:

WVU 22, Binghamton 20
125: Devin Brown (WVU) tech. fall Steven Bulzomi (BING), 18-0 – WVU leads 5-0
133: Cory Stainbrook (WVU) pins Ian Lupole (BING), 1:32– WVU leads 11-0
141: Joe Wheeling (WVU) dec. Dylan Caruana (BING), 5-2 – WVU leads 14-0
149: Parker Kropman (BING) dec. Christian Monserrat (BING), 11-6 – WVU leads 14-3
159: Tristan Rifanburg (BING) tech. fall Dayton Garrett (WVU), 16-0 – WVU leads 14-8
165: Dylan Cottrell (WVU) tech. fall Jake Einbinder (BING), 19-2 - WVU leads 19-8
174: Anthony DePrez (BING) tech. fall Ty Millward (WVU), 17-0 – WVU leads 19-13
184: Steve Schneider (BING) maj. dec. Parker VonEgidy (WVU), 12-4 – WVU leads 19-17
197: Jacob A. Smith (WVU) dec. Mark Tracy (BING), 6-1 – WVU leads 22-17
285: Connor Calkins (BING) dec. Brandon Ngati (WVU), 4-0 -- WVU wins 22-20 

Binghamton 38, Franklin & Marshall 12
125: Carlos Aucancela (BING) wins by forfeit – Binghamton leads 6-0
133: Dan Martoccio (F&M) pins Joe Nelson (BING), 1:59 – Tied 6-6
141: Paddy Quinlan (F&M) dec. Joe Russ (BING), 10-3 – Franklin & Marshall leads 9-6
149: Parker Kropman (BING) pins Nick Maher (F&M), 6:11 – Binghamton leads 12-9
157: Tristan Rifanburg (BING) wins by medical forfeit - Binghamton leads 18-9
165: Jake Einbinder (BING) tech. fall Mike Berkowitz (F&M), 16-0 – Binghamton leads 23-9
174: Jimmy Stillerman (F&M) dec. Anthony DePrez (BING), 18-12 – Binghamton leads 23-12
184: Steve Schneider (BING) pins Reid Robilotto, 6:27 – Binghamton leads 29-12
197: Mark Tracy (BING) wins by forfeit – Binghamton leads 35-12
285: Connor Calkins (BING) dec. Corey Keresner (F&M), 7-4 – Binghamton wins 38-12 

Binghamton 23, Harvard 16
125: Steven Bulzomi (BING) pins Matt Rodriguez (HAR), 2:12 – Binghamton leads 6-0
133: Jeffrey Ott (HAR) tech. fall Ian Lupole (BING), 18-2 – Binghamton leads 6-5
141: A.J. Jaffe (HAR) dec. Joe Caruana (BING), 7-2 – Harvard leads 8-6
149: Parker Kropman (BING) dec. Colby Knight (HAR), 5-2 – Binghamton leads 9-8
157: Tristan Rifanburg (BING) dec. Zeth Dean (HAR), 6-1 – Binghamton leads 12-8
165: Kyle Bierdumpfel (HAR) tech. fall Jake Einbinder (BING), 16-1– Harvard leads 13-12
174: Josef Johnson (HAR) dec. Anthony DePrez (BING), 3-2- Harvard leads 16-12
184: Steve Schneider (BING) maj. dec. Kanon Dean (HAR), 15-4 – Tied 16-16
197: Mark Tracy (BING) maj. dec. Rico Stormer (HAR), 12-2 – Binghamton leads 20-16
285: Connor Calkins (BING) dec. Nick Gajdzik (HAR), SV-1 3-1 – Binghamton wins 23-16